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Media convergence has afforded users an increasing amount of options regarding the media they consume, available at the click of a button. This has led some to clamor about the potential for media to bridge previously existing inequalities and decrease social stratification not just in media use, but in other realms of society as well. Skeptics have argued that while the convergence of media has given users more options in their own media repertoire, social stratification persists. Moreover, if media do increase a user's possibilities to participate in other realms of society, the persisting stratification of media use risks enacting a Matthew effect whereby the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Using data from the Flemish participation survey, this article seeks to contribute to this discussion by exploring Flemish media use by constructing media repertoires using latent class analysis and exploring their sociodemographic profiles. Following this analysis, we compare the cultural participation patterns of the six Flemish media repertoires using negative binomial regression analysis. We find that social stratification of media use persists in Flanders, with broad and 'highbrow' repertoires predominantly restricted to higher status groups. Moreover, we find a structural homology between the structure of media repertoires and cultural participation, whereby broad repertoires exhibit a similar openness to cultural practices, and repertoires tailored to highbrow media exhibit a similar preference for highbrow cultural activities. As a result, we find that social stratification persists in media use and cultural participation but argues that media repertoires offer a potential entrypoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we develop the concept of small acts of engagement (SAOE) in a networked media environment as a conceptual framework to study specific audience practices and as an agenda for research on these practices. We define SAOE, such as liking, sharing, and commenting, as productive audience practices that require little investment and are intentionally more casual than the structural and laborious practices examined as types of produsage and convergence culture. We further elaborate on the interpretive and productive aspects of SAOE, which allow us to reconnect the notions of a participatory culture and a culture of everyday agency. Our central argument is that audience studies' perspective allows viewing SAOE as practices of everyday audience agency, which, on an aggregate level, have the potential to become powerful acts of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many academic works and authors have added to our understanding of the changing audience dynamics that emerged with the wide adoption of digital media by exploring audiences turning into prosumers, producers, pro-ams and so on. Gradually, and rather unnoticed, another denominator seems to have entered our academic vocabulary: the user. Although widely adopted, many media scholars remain wary of this notion, as it would undermine theoretical advancements made in audience studies. At the same time, the almost natural adoption of the term in media studies indicates that ‘user’ is at least intuitively better suited than ‘audience’ to address people in relationship with media today. The article makes the case for ‘media user’ and ‘media use’ as not merely suitable terms but also as more encompassing analytical concepts, especially in light of understanding cross-media use. First, an argumentation is developed for adopting these terms by showing the analytical benefits of talking about media users when addressing people ‘floating’ across media. Subsequently, the notion of media use is grounded in both traditional approaches and recent advancements in media studies. Special attention is given to the notion of audience activity and how it translates into a cross-media environment. The article concludes with a critical reflection on both terms in relation to notions such as participation and user empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contends that not only journalism but also journalism studies can benefit from a stronger commitment to the public. While the bodies of literature on “popular journalism”, “public journalism” and “citizen/participatory journalism” have, in different contexts and from different angles, made a strong case in favour of a public-oriented approach to journalism, it is remarkable how few of the empirical studies on journalism are based on user research. As the control of media institutions over the news process is in decline, we should take the “news audience” more seriously and try to improve our understanding of (changing) news use patterns. Besides this rather obvious theoretical point, there are also societal and methodological arguments for a more user-oriented take on the study of journalism. Starting from a reflection on the key trends in news use in the digital age—participation, cross-mediality and mobility—this article attempts to show the theoretical and societal relevance of a radical user perspective on journalism and journalism research alike. Furthermore, we look at new methodological opportunities for news user research and elaborate on our arguments by way of an empirical study on changing news practices. The study uses Q-sort methodology to expose the impact a medium's affordances can have on the way we experience news in a converged and mobile media environment. The article concludes by discussing what the benefits of a radical user perspective can be both for journalism studies as for journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]